WEEE-Registrierung bei der stiftung ear Schritt für Schritt

WEEE Registration with stiftung ear: Steps and Deadlines

No registration, no sales: anyone placing electrical and electronic equipment on the German market needs a WEEE registration number from stiftung ear first. Marketplaces such as Amazon or Temu ask for it when you create a listing. This article walks through the process in five steps – and through the duties that stay with you afterwards.

Step 1: b2c or b2b?

stiftung ear distinguishes by where a device can be used. b2c equipment can „at least also be used in private households“; b2b equipment is „used exclusively in commercial environments“. That classification drives everything that follows:

  • b2c: proof of an insolvency-proof guarantee, collection of waste equipment from the municipalities, comprehensive customer information.
  • b2b: your own take-back duty for waste equipment, simplified customer information – without details on battery disposal or recovery rates.

When in doubt: if a private household could use the device, it is b2c – even if you sell only to business customers.

Step 2: determine the category of equipment

What gets registered is not „the company“ but every combination of brand and category of equipment. For b2c equipment there are nine categories:

  1. Temperature exchange equipment (Wärmeüberträger)
  2. Screens and monitors (Bildschirmgeräte)
  3. Gas discharge lamps (Gasentladungslampen)
  4. Lamps other than gas discharge lamps
  5. Large equipment (Großgeräte)
  6. Large photovoltaic modules
  7. Small photovoltaic modules
  8. Small equipment (Kleingeräte)
  9. Small IT and telecommunications equipment

Three brands across two categories means six registrations. If a brand or category is added later, it is notified separately – there are dedicated items for that under Electrical equipment (ElektroG / WEEE).

Step 3: the insolvency-proof guarantee for b2c equipment

For b2c equipment, § 7 ElektroG requires an insolvency-proof guarantee covering the disposal of future waste equipment. The usual routes are an insurance policy, a blocked account or participation in a suitable guarantee system; stiftung ear maintains a list of approved producer guarantee systems for this purpose.

Without a valid guarantee certificate the registration application will not be granted. And the guarantee has to be renewed every year – by far the most commonly overlooked point. We have been listed with our own guarantee system approved by stiftung ear since 2024: Guarantee for producers and Guarantee for authorised representatives.

Step 4: the application in the ear portal

The route runs through setting up a user account and submitting a registration application in the ear portal. If you have no establishment in Germany, your authorised representative under § 8 ElektroG files the application in their own name.

stiftung ear does not state a fixed processing time. Allow for lead time, especially if the guarantee and the mandate still have to be set up.

Step 5: after registration – the ongoing duties

  • Use the WEEE number: state it on quotes and invoices and store it in your marketplace accounts.
  • Volume notifications: report the volumes placed on the market regularly in the ear portal.
  • Annual statistical notification: the request always arrives in February for the previous year, with an end-of-April deadline.
  • Keep master data current: company name, address and billing data – see Master data & invoice changes.
  • Handle official orders: collection orders and provision orders come with short deadlines – see ElektroG disposal.
  • Renew the guarantee: every single year.

Where it usually goes wrong

This is not an official list – it is what we run into most often in daily practice:

  • The brand on the device differs from the registered brand.
  • The category of equipment is wrong – particularly often with battery-powered devices and small IT equipment.
  • The guarantee certificate is missing or has expired.
  • The mandate is not available in writing in German.
  • Batteries inside the device are forgotten – they trigger their own registration duty under the BattDG: Batteries (BattDG).
  • Shipping packaging is forgotten – it is reportable too: Packaging (VerpackDG / PPWR).

Support

We handle registration, guarantee, notifications and disposal – with or without a mandate. All services and prices are on our price overview; common questions are answered in our FAQ. For an assessment of your case, write to us or book a compliance check.

Sources

As at 17 September 2026. This article does not constitute legal advice.

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